The detraditionalization of occupational identities in farming in south Australia

This paper uses grounded theory to uncover the occupational identities of m en and women who farm, and to build an empirically constructed typology of occupational identities in farming. The narratives of 22 men and 22 women f rom diverse farm types and two regions of South Australia are used to explo re subjective meanings associated with work, the farm and self. The typolog y shows a shift in meanings associated with work,'the farm' and gender char acteristics across time and the typology. Globalizing influences are identi fied which have detraditionalized identities in farming and these are: chan ging relations between men and women and changing expectations about how pr oducers should engage and orientate themselves toward the general market. A reflexivity about gender and a reflexivity about farming practice were ide ntified as the two most important recurring features in the formation of id entities that were non-traditional. The paper therefore investigates why so me individuals are more likely than others to be reflexive about gender and gender relations and/or farming practice. It explores the inter-relationsh ip between 'self-reflexivity' and the structural environment in which the c onstruction and reconstruction of identity occurs.